We Asked New Yorkers To Help Raise $840 Billion To Offset The Gender Wage Gap

When you're raising money for a good cause, you usually set reasonable goals for yourself, like $500 toward entering a 5k. But when you set out to accomplish something really huge, the goal might seem completely out of reach. Take the problem of the gender pay gap, which is a massive issue of inequality affecting women in all 50 states. According to AAUW, women working full time in the United States were paid, on average, just 80 percent of what men were paid for the same work. When you add that all up, that amounts to about $840 billion that women are losing to the wage gap each year.

That's a lot of money. But that didn't stop us from partnering with LUNA®, a devoted supporter of women and equal pay, and comedy duo Soren & Jolles — also devoted (and outspoken!) supporters of women and equal pay — to take to the streets of New York in an attempt to close the gender pay gap ... at least a tiny bit. Of course, $840 billion is a laughably huge amount for two people to raise in one day, so our funny ladies ended up focusing a bit more on the valuable work of spreading awareness than they did trying to hit that 12-figure target. After all, educating people about wage inequality is one of the most effective ways to combat it. See below for their illuminating and hilarious efforts. They found that New Yorkers of all backgrounds were eager to learn about and share insights on the gender pay gap — and yes, donate generously!

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In the spirit of our partnership with LUNA®, Bustle has donated to AAUW, a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.